L&L Special Furnace Co. Inc. received an order for two atmosphere-controlled retort box furnaces. They will be used for debindering ceramic composite matrix (CMC) parts, powder-metal processing and hot isostatic processing (HIP). The main function of the furnaces is to remove all organics and other materials used in the product prior to placing in a high-fire vacuum chamber. The debindering process is extremely important and allows for a finished product that is very strong and light. The furnaces have a work zone measuring 23 inches wide x 23 inches high x 36 inches deep. They have a single zone of control with a temperature gradient of ±20°F at 1100°F (595°C) using four zones of temperature control with biasing to balance any temperature gradients.

Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd. has been awarded a contract to deliver a second mesh-belt furnace line to a commercial heat treater in the Midwest. Can-Eng commissioned a 4,000-pound/hour mesh-belt furnace system for this customer in 2020. This duplicate 4,000-pound/hour high-capacity furnace line will be installed alongside the previous furnace line in the company’s recently expanded plant. It will be used primarily for processes including carbonitriding and carburizing. The furnace line includes: an automated bin dumping and vibratory part-feeder system; dunk and spray pre-washer; protective atmosphere-controlled mesh-belt hardening system; oil quench; dunk and spray post-wash system; forced recirculation temper furnace; in-line post-cooling system; and Can-Eng’s PET Level 2 SCADA system.

Quintus Technologies supplied a hot isostatic press (HIP) to Israel’s T.A.G. Medical Products Corp. The HIP, which was installed in May 2022, will ensure the production of implants and surgical tools with the optimal material properties required by the exacting environments in which they are used. Proprietary features such as high-pressure heat treatment (HPHT) and uniform rapid quenching (URQ) enable the press to produce finished MIM parts with maximum theoretical density, ductility and fatigue resistance. According to T.A.G., the Quintus press will serve for implants and minimal cutting tools production, where high material uniformity and good mechanical properties are required.

Tata Steel awarded PSNERGY LLC of Erie, Pa., a contract to install its Total Combustion Solution (TCS) on all of the steelmaker’s industrial furnaces. The TCS is designed to reduce emissions and increase furnace throughput by measuring, maximizing and maintaining energy input through the combustion process. The project will be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2022. 

Yazici Transfer Makina Co. of Turkey added a Nitrex nitrocarburizing system to its Istanbul facility to increase the manufacturing capacity of tooling and machinery components for its precision CNC machines. The company started production with the new system in fall 2021. It is used for Nitreg-C nitrocarburizing and ONC in-process oxidation treatments. According to Yazici Transfer Makina, these processes improve the wear and corrosion properties of alloy and carbon steel parts. This is the company’s second Nitrex furnace. The first went into operation in 2019.

Pairing ORC technology and heat exchangers can help some facilities capture otherwise lost thermal energy in bulk solids materials to reduce energy consumption and generate electricity.

A vacuum oil quench (VOQ) furnace purchased by Solar Atmospheres of Western PA entered into full production after passing start-up protocol. The initial temperature uniformity survey, compliant to AMS 2750F, produced +/-10°F results at all setpoints. The critical lift-and-place transfer mechanism worked, and the system delivered hot 2,000-pound loads to the internal oil-quench tank. With a quench system that is entirely self-contained and vacuum-tight, the typical positive-pressure “flare and smoke-ups” during each quench cycle were nonexistent. The furnace, which was designed and built by Solar Manufacturing, has a hot zone measuring 36 x 36 x 48 inches.

Lindberg/MPH shipped a gas-fired cyclone pit furnace to a manufacturer. The furnace has a maximum operating temperature of 1400°F (760°C) and a gross load capacity of 2,750 pounds. The medium-velocity burner and combustion train is estimated at 355,000 BTU/hour. The furnace’s load space is 25 inches in diameter and 36 inches high. The outer shell is constructed of industrial steel and has an alloy liner backed up with insulating brick and block insulation.

Ipsen recently installed a vacuum furnace at Temprasud, a commercial heat treater in Fresagrandinaria, Italy. According to Temprasud, the vacuum hardening and low-pressure carburizing furnace will increase its production capacity and offer customers greater flexibility. The furnace, which has a 1,764-pound (800-kg) load capacity, will also help Temprasud grow its business in the automotive market and allow it to expand into the aerospace market.

SECO/WARWICK delivered a roller-hearth furnace to global bearing manufacturer NSK. The furnace, which will spheroidize anneal rings for the bearing industry, will be installed at the company’s plant in Kielce, Poland. The entire automated process line consists of a loading table with a drive, loading elevators with side handling, heating chambers, controlled cooling chambers, cooling tunnels, unloading elevators and tables. It also includes a control cabinet with a complete automated visualization system that provides comprehensive control over the production process. The process line, which is built around the roller-hearth furnace, is intended to be used for the heat treatment of workpieces following downstream processes that are then assembled into bearings used in the automotive sector.